"We highly value the balanced position of our Chinese friends when it comes to the Ukraine crisis," Putin told Xi, whom he addressed as "Dear Comrade Xi Jinping, dear friend".
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Despite being addressed by Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping did not mention Ukraine in his public remarks.
"We understand your questions and concern about this. During today's meeting, we will of course explain our position, we will explain in detail our position on this issue, although we have talked about this before."
Vladimir Putin also said he understood that Xi Jinping had questions and concerns about the situation in Ukraine as it has cost tens of thousands of lives and also led to the global economic downturn. Notably, the invasion has brought Russia and the West to loggerheads.
During their meeting, Xi said he was very happy to meet "my old friend" again. At the same time, Putin called the U.S. attempts to create a unipolar world a failure.
It is worth noting that Russian forces had to face a haphazard retreat in north-eastern Ukraine days ago. Putin's remark about Chinese concern over the war has come days after the incident.
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"Our assessments of the international situation coincide completely ... there are no discrepancies at all. We will continue to coordinate our actions including at the forthcoming U.N. General Assembly." said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
Just like the Chinese President's public remark, the Ukraine issue remained invisible from the Chinese readout of the meeting as well. But the readout mentioned that the dragon is willing to give strong support to Russia for matters related to its core interests, reported Reuters quoting state broadcaster CCTV.
Apart from abstaining to mention the Ukraine issue in its public statement, China has always opted to stay mum on Russia's operation against Ukraine. Moreover, it has never called it an “invasion" in line with Kremlin, which calls the war as "a special military operation".
However, the dragon has maintained its distance from getting directly involved in the Russia-Ukraine issue as it may result in sanctions from the West.
Russia-China ties
The world knows the two nations for their strategic partnership as a significant development post-China's rise over the past 40 years.
However, the two nations seem to deal with different phases of their growth. On the one hand, Russia is struggling to maintain its dominance after being indulged in a draining war, on the other hand, China has emerged as a rising superpower that even threatens the US because of its growing dominance.
Russia once used to be a global Communist hierarchy as a united Soviet Union. However, post-Soviet collapse, the nation is now a junior partner to a resurgent China which already leads in some 21st-century technologies.
"China is willing to work with Russia to play a leading role in demonstrating the responsibility of major powers, and to instill stability and positive energy into a world in turmoil," Xi told Putin.
Chinese President is meeting Putin in person for the 39th time since becoming president in 2013, he has yet to meet Joe Biden in person since his victory in the US presidential election in 2021.
Russia supports the ‘One China Policy
After expressing China's balanced approach to the Ukrainian issue, Putin also made sure to show his support to China on the Taiwan issue. He also made it clear that Russia supports the ‘One China Policy.
"We intend to firmly adhere to the principle of 'One China," Putin said. "We condemn provocations by the United States and their satellites in the Taiwan Strait."
Later, Taiwan government criticised Putin for comment on ‘One China Policy’. It is worth noting that apart from being a major ally for several decades, China can play a crucial role in Russia's attempt to save its economy against US sanctions. As the West is reducing its reliance on Russian energy, Kremlin is focusing on increasing its supply energy supply to China and Asia.
Russia's attempts to increase supply in the Asian region was also supported by Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh. During a meeting with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, he supported the construction of oil and gas pipelines from Russia to China via Mongolia.
Notably, Russia was working to figure ways of working on a major new gas pipeline-the Power of Siberia 2- to travel through Mongolia taking Russian gas to China. With this project, Russia would be able to sell one third of the amount (it used to supply to Europe) to China and rest of Asia.
